Beauty awoke on the grass, first wondering how she got there, and then
remembering. She sat up, aching with stiffness, and found Kaijin kneeling
next to her. Everyone else was asleep, tired from the hasty escape and
staying up for a while. Kaijin himself looked tired, but he had wanted to
stay up and watch over her, to make sure she was all right. "Kaijin," she
whispered.
His head jerked up. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Beauty. I was—well…"
"It's all right, Kaijin. Go to sleep. I will be all right. I need to take us somewhere, though. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well, if you want a planet that's almost exactly like Earth with a warm climate a shade cooler than Omega Nine, Drestyl Axilon is a few star- systems over from here."
"Sounds good. Which direction?"
"I'm not quite sure," he answered hazily. "I think…"
"Shh. Don't worry about it, darling. I'll just ask the Dream Crystal."
"Isn't that dangerous? Remember what happened last time."
"Yes, but that was when I had to take care of an entire attack force. I only have to get us from one place to another. That won't take as much energy. If you like, you can stay awake until I finish, just to be sure."
"Thank you, Princess."
Beauty, still sitting on the grass, lifted the Dream Crystal in both hands. With just a little concentration, she found the location of the Axilon System. She immediately directed the comet to its coordinates. Beauty put the comet into orbit around the Axilon sun so that the Drestyl—the people who lived on Drestyl Axilon—would not notice her arrival. If they did, it could attract Daikirai and her forces, or what remained of them. That was to be avoided at all costs.
"There," she whispered as she lay back down beside Kaijin. The two lay opposite ways, Beauty's head toward what would have been east, Kaijin's to the west. They were able to look each other in the eye, so there was no improper interaction. Not that there would have been anyway. Then they slept.
When they awoke in the relative morning, Beauty gathered her courtiers. "My Lords and Ladies, I'm afraid we must all leave. It is no longer safe for us to remain together, nor can we keep running and exist on the comet forever. I gathered you together to bid you farewell, for it is likely that I will not see you for quite some time."
"Where will we go," asked the Third Omegan ambassador.
"You will be strewn across the galaxy, so that Daikirai may not find all of you." She paused. "I'm sorry, but I will have to take your memories. Daikirai will try to find some of you and make you tell her where I am," she said over the clamoring that rose. "If she finds you here, with your memories intact, she will start hunting for me immediately. But if she and her forces believe that you are just another Drestyl, they will leave you alone. You will be safe. Please trust me."
The court fell quiet when a cry came from the back of the crowd. "I wish to forget first." All heads turned to see the Ambassador from Omega standing tall. "I support Princess Beauty's decision, and I would like to be the first to forget. I will have performed just short of the ultimate sacrifice by giving my memories to my Princess."
Beauty's eyes filled with tears. "Very well, Ambassador." She raised the Dream Crystal and implored, "Crystal of Dreams, by your true name I invoke your power. Yumezuishou, take from the Ambassador his memories of this life, that he may protect his kingdom by living another. And make his new life prosperous, for he was the bravest in the face of peril." When these words had left her lips, the Dream Crystal flashed blue light, and the ambassador was gone to some far-off planet, to live his new life in peace.
Others soon followed, and after a short while, all but the Steward of the Court, the Omegan Prince, and the Princess of Omega Nine were gone.
Beauty faced him. "Vincent, I—"
"Don't, child. You don't have to do this; I still wish to serve you. Let us go to Drestyl Axilon to live as a Lady, her husband, and her trusted servant." When she objected to the marriage, he said, "Once we are there, you can go to a local church and marry yourselves. I'll vouch for the legalities myself."
Kaijin turned to her. "Beauty, it's a marvelous idea, better than having our memories wiped. And besides, we can protect the system this way. And I do love you," he finished, unleashing his most dazzling smile on her. When he saw her weakening, he kissed her once, for a second. He saw her eyes grow wide after he broke the kiss. He was right; Beauty's love for him was so complete that she would sacrifice her safety for him, and Vincent.
As would he, if their situations were reversed.
"All right," Beauty said. "I can't fight both of you." She raised the Dream Crystal over her head, arms straight. She wanted to have the yumezuishou in a position where it could see them all. "Crystal of Dreams," she intoned, "I invoke your power by your true name. Yumezuishou, create me an item of power to use!"
In a flash of blue light, a staff of silver appeared before Beauty. The head was a ring of emerald, with an emerald globe sitting at the bottom. The space between the globe and the ring looked rather like an upside-down crescent moon. The head was attached to the shaft by two smaller globes, each attached to the other. At the base of the staff was another attached globe, out of which extended a small point. "That looks potentially lethal," Kaijin commented.
"It is, if I use it right," Beauty replied, taking hold of it. Holding the Dream Crystal by the necklace chain it was hung from, she invoked it again. "Yumezuishou, transform us into a lord and lady of this planet, and Vincent into our steward!" In a flash of red light, Vincent was dressed in a pale-green steward's uniform very similar to the one he had worn on Omega Nine. Kaijin wore tunic and breeches, hose and shoes, all green.
Beauty was dressed in an emerald dress that could only be classified as interesting. The neck encircled her throat with only enough room left to swallow, and the front spilled down in a cascade of fabric, which was caught at the front in her silver belt. The vertical hems were firm against her sides, so that when she bent over, no one from behind and to the side could see in. There was no back. Her hair hung long and silver to her calves, brushing her back lightly. The full skirt—the one with the slit most of the way up her thigh formed by the wrapping material—hung just past Beauty's feet when she stood, but she wore strappy golden sandals with a few added inches of height. This kept the skirt off the ground. A ring of light-stone set in silver was on her left index finger, and a house-ring of silver set with a large sapphire rested on her right ring finger. She looked dramatically different from her usual self, when she had her hair back and up.
She looked incredible.
"Are you sure about that dress," an assessing—and appraising—Kaijin asked.
*Typical male,* thought Beauty. "Yes I am," was all she said aloud. "And look, I even made us our own house-ring."
A house-ring identified which house—more often called a Family—a person came from, and most of the houses' ring designs were well known. However, there were a few ring designs that had fallen out of use because of the extinction of the Family. Other designs weren't known because the Family kept to themselves so much. This one was neither. This one was a central sapphire surrounded by nine little diamonds. On the inside of the band was the surname "Archaia," a derivative of the word "archaic." Her story would be that she was part of a family that had kept itself isolated, and now that he father was dead, she had come to make her family known and marry. She said as much to Kaijin and Vincent.
"Perfect," Kaijin commented, "except for one thing."
"What?"
"You need an engagement band." He conjured one up out of thin air, went down on one knee, and took her hand. "Beauty, darling, I know I don't have to do this because we're betrothed, but…Will you marry me?"
Beauty smiled through her joyous, amused tears. "Yes. I will, Kaijin." He stood and brushed the drops from her eyes. She gave him her left hand, and he slid the silver one onto her ring finger. "Let's go see our new playground. Up for it, Kaijin?"
"Absolutely." He flashed a wide grin. "How about you, Vincent?"
The steward gave a tragic sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you two."
Kaijin gave his dazzling smile. "You'll think of something by the time we get there. Right, Beauty?"
"I don't know if he'll have that much time. We're going by the Dream Crystal."
"I thought you said it was dangerous," Vincent said.
"Well we don't have a faster way there right now, and the more time we spend out here is more time Daikirai can get to us. She might not know where we are if we're down on the planet among other people."
"Can't she just track the Dream Crystal, though," asked Kaijin.
"No. The only way she could track me is to send out probes and see which ones I destroy. I have the staff the yumezuishou gave me, so I don't think I'll have to do that."
"If you're sure…."
"Thank you, I am." With that, she slung the yumezuishou pendant around her neck again and dreamed that they were in a meadow on the planet, about a mile from town.
One tingling sensation each later, there they were, about a mile outside the capital.
"Oh, by the way," Beauty said as she conjured a carriage and horses for herself and the two men, "My name is Belle. It means the same thing as Beauty, but Daikirai's goons wouldn't know that." She climbed into the carriage. "Coming?"
Kaijin sighed and climbed in after her. Vincent got into the driver's seat, where he took up the reins as if he had been doing it all his life. "Just follow the road, Vincent. We should be there shortly," Beauty—or rather, Belle—called out the window.
"Okay, boss-lady," he called back.
"What do you think my name should be," Kaijin asked.
"Well, your name means 'mystery,' and I certainly have to agree with that. A similar name is—"
"No, thanks. 'Kaijin' still works for me. And actually, 'Kaijin' is a pretty popular name nowadays."
"Then I guess we're all good."
"I guess we are."
Just then, Vincent called out from the front. "Lady Belle."
"Yes, Vincent?"
"My Lady, where should we go first?"
"Go to the governor's office. We need to get our Family registered on the census list."
"Very well." They trundled along through the city streets, watching, and being watched as they passed along. Merchants saw new prospects, Families saw new party opportunities, and peasants saw new hope. The pair in the carriage saw a world of safety, where they could be welcomed with open arms, and where they could help common people. When Vincent pulled to a stop in front of the city governor's office and opened the door, a small crowd gathered to see who the new Family was. When Kaijin stepped from the carriage, the crowd began to buzz, but when Belle stepped from the carriage, the crowd drew in a collective breath and grew still. She was "really pretty," the children said. A few gathered closest to her and asked to have a kiss on the cheek. She gave them each one, and heard several promises never to wash that particular cheek again. Broad smiles grew among the mothers to see that their children were not harmed, and were in fact happy. Then the lady disappeared into the governor's office, and the world became dull and ordinary again. The lady remained the top priority on the city news passed around, and soon became the kindest, most famed lady in that city. Even the children told the ones who hadn't seen her marvelously exaggerated stories.
Just before the month was out, the newly arrived couple had gone to the local church to carry through with the wedding. The whole city knew the week before, and gathered at the church to witness the wedding. The groom waited nervously at the altar with the officiating clergyman, who kept him relatively calm. He had, of course, appointed Vincent as his best man, and Beauty had made friends with the city's seamstress and a few of the local Ladies. The ones she had become closest with—especially the seamstress—were her bridesmaids. They came up the aisle in beautifully sewn gowns in the seven colors of the rainbow and lined up on the bride's side of the front row. The organ then played a fanfare that announced the arrival of the bride in the chapel.
Belle looked stunningly beautiful.
A wedding gown of deep ivy green had replaced her customary pale-blue dress. The veil was of the same color, and only dimmed the joyous sparkle in her green eyes. The design was akin to that of the dress she had worn when she first arrived, only smooth on the front and made of silk. A seamed skirt had replaced the slit skirt, as well. She still wore strappy sandals, only these were silver, and a bit shorter.
Kaijin couldn't breathe; she was so magnificent. All he could do was watch, completely hypnotized, as his bride was escorted up the aisle to face him. When he started to see spots in front of his eyes, he knew he had to breathe, and forced air into his lungs to keep from passing out. As the ceremony progressed, he found himself becoming more anxious. Why did the sermon have to be so long? Finally, though, the priest finished, and Kaijin began reciting the vows. Then he slid the engraved silver wedding band on Belle's finger. She repeated her vows in a clear but timid voice, finishing strongly. She then put the engagement band from her finger onto his, completing that part of the ritual.
"You my kiss the bride," said the priest, and Belle leaned into it exuberantly. After an appropriately estimated amount of time, she broke the kiss and took her husband's hand. Together, showered with confetti and amidst many cheers, they exited the church to climb into the carriage. Vincent had transferred himself from the altar and onto the driver's seat when no one was paying attention, and so was ready to drive them off when they had gotten in.
The cheers grew dimmer in their ears, and the happy couple knew they were safely out of town. "Do you think we can create our mansion now," Kaijin asked. "I'd rather like to carry my bride across our new doorstep, and then some." He kissed her again.
"Mm, I'll bet," Belle answered knowingly. "But if you want me to make our home—" She was kissed yet again and had to break off, then picked up where she left off. "—You're going to have to hold on." She smiled.
He managed to look like an upset child. "Oh, all right."
Belle laughed at the face he made. "Are you jealous," she asked teasingly.
Just as teasingly, he stuck his tongue out and turned away from her.
"Aw, poor baby." Belle patted his cheek, tilted his face back, and kissed him briefly.
"Children," Vincent called good-naturedly from the front. "Let's not turn into three-year-olds."
"Be right back." She sat back and lifted the Dream Crystal on its chain. "Dream Crystal! Please create us a mansion to live in as Lady and Lord. Make it of emerald marble, with a large lake in back." A few hundred meters away, a rather large chateau appeared, and they were driving up the driveway! "Look out the window, One-Who-Pouts, and see what the object of your jealousy just did for you."
Kaijin did as she asked, sticking his head out of the carriage window. His jaw dropped when he saw the green marble wonder before him. He pulled his head back in. "You got it to do that?"
"Yeah," she answered deprecatingly. Then she grew more serious. "The Crystal and I are rather like best friends than just Crystal and Mistress, so it did me a favor. It's rather hard to explain, but it seems like it's part of me, like something that belongs in me. Or at least, with me. Did you notice how, all through the ceremony, it was shining a little brighter than usual? I was happier then, more joyous than usual. And now that I think about it, when I was mourning on the comet, it was somewhat dull. I suppose that if I were mad, it would get cloudy, and start flashing within, like a mini-thunderstorm. Do you know what I mean," she asked suddenly, turning to Kaijin. "No, of course you don't. You haven't used the Dream Crystal. But when I first put it on, there was a little glimmer inside it, like a start of recognition. I'm not sure, but I think it was…waiting for me."
His head jerked up. "What? Oh, I'm sorry, Beauty. I was—well…"
"It's all right, Kaijin. Go to sleep. I will be all right. I need to take us somewhere, though. Do you have any suggestions?"
"Well, if you want a planet that's almost exactly like Earth with a warm climate a shade cooler than Omega Nine, Drestyl Axilon is a few star- systems over from here."
"Sounds good. Which direction?"
"I'm not quite sure," he answered hazily. "I think…"
"Shh. Don't worry about it, darling. I'll just ask the Dream Crystal."
"Isn't that dangerous? Remember what happened last time."
"Yes, but that was when I had to take care of an entire attack force. I only have to get us from one place to another. That won't take as much energy. If you like, you can stay awake until I finish, just to be sure."
"Thank you, Princess."
Beauty, still sitting on the grass, lifted the Dream Crystal in both hands. With just a little concentration, she found the location of the Axilon System. She immediately directed the comet to its coordinates. Beauty put the comet into orbit around the Axilon sun so that the Drestyl—the people who lived on Drestyl Axilon—would not notice her arrival. If they did, it could attract Daikirai and her forces, or what remained of them. That was to be avoided at all costs.
"There," she whispered as she lay back down beside Kaijin. The two lay opposite ways, Beauty's head toward what would have been east, Kaijin's to the west. They were able to look each other in the eye, so there was no improper interaction. Not that there would have been anyway. Then they slept.
When they awoke in the relative morning, Beauty gathered her courtiers. "My Lords and Ladies, I'm afraid we must all leave. It is no longer safe for us to remain together, nor can we keep running and exist on the comet forever. I gathered you together to bid you farewell, for it is likely that I will not see you for quite some time."
"Where will we go," asked the Third Omegan ambassador.
"You will be strewn across the galaxy, so that Daikirai may not find all of you." She paused. "I'm sorry, but I will have to take your memories. Daikirai will try to find some of you and make you tell her where I am," she said over the clamoring that rose. "If she finds you here, with your memories intact, she will start hunting for me immediately. But if she and her forces believe that you are just another Drestyl, they will leave you alone. You will be safe. Please trust me."
The court fell quiet when a cry came from the back of the crowd. "I wish to forget first." All heads turned to see the Ambassador from Omega standing tall. "I support Princess Beauty's decision, and I would like to be the first to forget. I will have performed just short of the ultimate sacrifice by giving my memories to my Princess."
Beauty's eyes filled with tears. "Very well, Ambassador." She raised the Dream Crystal and implored, "Crystal of Dreams, by your true name I invoke your power. Yumezuishou, take from the Ambassador his memories of this life, that he may protect his kingdom by living another. And make his new life prosperous, for he was the bravest in the face of peril." When these words had left her lips, the Dream Crystal flashed blue light, and the ambassador was gone to some far-off planet, to live his new life in peace.
Others soon followed, and after a short while, all but the Steward of the Court, the Omegan Prince, and the Princess of Omega Nine were gone.
Beauty faced him. "Vincent, I—"
"Don't, child. You don't have to do this; I still wish to serve you. Let us go to Drestyl Axilon to live as a Lady, her husband, and her trusted servant." When she objected to the marriage, he said, "Once we are there, you can go to a local church and marry yourselves. I'll vouch for the legalities myself."
Kaijin turned to her. "Beauty, it's a marvelous idea, better than having our memories wiped. And besides, we can protect the system this way. And I do love you," he finished, unleashing his most dazzling smile on her. When he saw her weakening, he kissed her once, for a second. He saw her eyes grow wide after he broke the kiss. He was right; Beauty's love for him was so complete that she would sacrifice her safety for him, and Vincent.
As would he, if their situations were reversed.
"All right," Beauty said. "I can't fight both of you." She raised the Dream Crystal over her head, arms straight. She wanted to have the yumezuishou in a position where it could see them all. "Crystal of Dreams," she intoned, "I invoke your power by your true name. Yumezuishou, create me an item of power to use!"
In a flash of blue light, a staff of silver appeared before Beauty. The head was a ring of emerald, with an emerald globe sitting at the bottom. The space between the globe and the ring looked rather like an upside-down crescent moon. The head was attached to the shaft by two smaller globes, each attached to the other. At the base of the staff was another attached globe, out of which extended a small point. "That looks potentially lethal," Kaijin commented.
"It is, if I use it right," Beauty replied, taking hold of it. Holding the Dream Crystal by the necklace chain it was hung from, she invoked it again. "Yumezuishou, transform us into a lord and lady of this planet, and Vincent into our steward!" In a flash of red light, Vincent was dressed in a pale-green steward's uniform very similar to the one he had worn on Omega Nine. Kaijin wore tunic and breeches, hose and shoes, all green.
Beauty was dressed in an emerald dress that could only be classified as interesting. The neck encircled her throat with only enough room left to swallow, and the front spilled down in a cascade of fabric, which was caught at the front in her silver belt. The vertical hems were firm against her sides, so that when she bent over, no one from behind and to the side could see in. There was no back. Her hair hung long and silver to her calves, brushing her back lightly. The full skirt—the one with the slit most of the way up her thigh formed by the wrapping material—hung just past Beauty's feet when she stood, but she wore strappy golden sandals with a few added inches of height. This kept the skirt off the ground. A ring of light-stone set in silver was on her left index finger, and a house-ring of silver set with a large sapphire rested on her right ring finger. She looked dramatically different from her usual self, when she had her hair back and up.
She looked incredible.
"Are you sure about that dress," an assessing—and appraising—Kaijin asked.
*Typical male,* thought Beauty. "Yes I am," was all she said aloud. "And look, I even made us our own house-ring."
A house-ring identified which house—more often called a Family—a person came from, and most of the houses' ring designs were well known. However, there were a few ring designs that had fallen out of use because of the extinction of the Family. Other designs weren't known because the Family kept to themselves so much. This one was neither. This one was a central sapphire surrounded by nine little diamonds. On the inside of the band was the surname "Archaia," a derivative of the word "archaic." Her story would be that she was part of a family that had kept itself isolated, and now that he father was dead, she had come to make her family known and marry. She said as much to Kaijin and Vincent.
"Perfect," Kaijin commented, "except for one thing."
"What?"
"You need an engagement band." He conjured one up out of thin air, went down on one knee, and took her hand. "Beauty, darling, I know I don't have to do this because we're betrothed, but…Will you marry me?"
Beauty smiled through her joyous, amused tears. "Yes. I will, Kaijin." He stood and brushed the drops from her eyes. She gave him her left hand, and he slid the silver one onto her ring finger. "Let's go see our new playground. Up for it, Kaijin?"
"Absolutely." He flashed a wide grin. "How about you, Vincent?"
The steward gave a tragic sigh. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you two."
Kaijin gave his dazzling smile. "You'll think of something by the time we get there. Right, Beauty?"
"I don't know if he'll have that much time. We're going by the Dream Crystal."
"I thought you said it was dangerous," Vincent said.
"Well we don't have a faster way there right now, and the more time we spend out here is more time Daikirai can get to us. She might not know where we are if we're down on the planet among other people."
"Can't she just track the Dream Crystal, though," asked Kaijin.
"No. The only way she could track me is to send out probes and see which ones I destroy. I have the staff the yumezuishou gave me, so I don't think I'll have to do that."
"If you're sure…."
"Thank you, I am." With that, she slung the yumezuishou pendant around her neck again and dreamed that they were in a meadow on the planet, about a mile from town.
One tingling sensation each later, there they were, about a mile outside the capital.
"Oh, by the way," Beauty said as she conjured a carriage and horses for herself and the two men, "My name is Belle. It means the same thing as Beauty, but Daikirai's goons wouldn't know that." She climbed into the carriage. "Coming?"
Kaijin sighed and climbed in after her. Vincent got into the driver's seat, where he took up the reins as if he had been doing it all his life. "Just follow the road, Vincent. We should be there shortly," Beauty—or rather, Belle—called out the window.
"Okay, boss-lady," he called back.
"What do you think my name should be," Kaijin asked.
"Well, your name means 'mystery,' and I certainly have to agree with that. A similar name is—"
"No, thanks. 'Kaijin' still works for me. And actually, 'Kaijin' is a pretty popular name nowadays."
"Then I guess we're all good."
"I guess we are."
Just then, Vincent called out from the front. "Lady Belle."
"Yes, Vincent?"
"My Lady, where should we go first?"
"Go to the governor's office. We need to get our Family registered on the census list."
"Very well." They trundled along through the city streets, watching, and being watched as they passed along. Merchants saw new prospects, Families saw new party opportunities, and peasants saw new hope. The pair in the carriage saw a world of safety, where they could be welcomed with open arms, and where they could help common people. When Vincent pulled to a stop in front of the city governor's office and opened the door, a small crowd gathered to see who the new Family was. When Kaijin stepped from the carriage, the crowd began to buzz, but when Belle stepped from the carriage, the crowd drew in a collective breath and grew still. She was "really pretty," the children said. A few gathered closest to her and asked to have a kiss on the cheek. She gave them each one, and heard several promises never to wash that particular cheek again. Broad smiles grew among the mothers to see that their children were not harmed, and were in fact happy. Then the lady disappeared into the governor's office, and the world became dull and ordinary again. The lady remained the top priority on the city news passed around, and soon became the kindest, most famed lady in that city. Even the children told the ones who hadn't seen her marvelously exaggerated stories.
Just before the month was out, the newly arrived couple had gone to the local church to carry through with the wedding. The whole city knew the week before, and gathered at the church to witness the wedding. The groom waited nervously at the altar with the officiating clergyman, who kept him relatively calm. He had, of course, appointed Vincent as his best man, and Beauty had made friends with the city's seamstress and a few of the local Ladies. The ones she had become closest with—especially the seamstress—were her bridesmaids. They came up the aisle in beautifully sewn gowns in the seven colors of the rainbow and lined up on the bride's side of the front row. The organ then played a fanfare that announced the arrival of the bride in the chapel.
Belle looked stunningly beautiful.
A wedding gown of deep ivy green had replaced her customary pale-blue dress. The veil was of the same color, and only dimmed the joyous sparkle in her green eyes. The design was akin to that of the dress she had worn when she first arrived, only smooth on the front and made of silk. A seamed skirt had replaced the slit skirt, as well. She still wore strappy sandals, only these were silver, and a bit shorter.
Kaijin couldn't breathe; she was so magnificent. All he could do was watch, completely hypnotized, as his bride was escorted up the aisle to face him. When he started to see spots in front of his eyes, he knew he had to breathe, and forced air into his lungs to keep from passing out. As the ceremony progressed, he found himself becoming more anxious. Why did the sermon have to be so long? Finally, though, the priest finished, and Kaijin began reciting the vows. Then he slid the engraved silver wedding band on Belle's finger. She repeated her vows in a clear but timid voice, finishing strongly. She then put the engagement band from her finger onto his, completing that part of the ritual.
"You my kiss the bride," said the priest, and Belle leaned into it exuberantly. After an appropriately estimated amount of time, she broke the kiss and took her husband's hand. Together, showered with confetti and amidst many cheers, they exited the church to climb into the carriage. Vincent had transferred himself from the altar and onto the driver's seat when no one was paying attention, and so was ready to drive them off when they had gotten in.
The cheers grew dimmer in their ears, and the happy couple knew they were safely out of town. "Do you think we can create our mansion now," Kaijin asked. "I'd rather like to carry my bride across our new doorstep, and then some." He kissed her again.
"Mm, I'll bet," Belle answered knowingly. "But if you want me to make our home—" She was kissed yet again and had to break off, then picked up where she left off. "—You're going to have to hold on." She smiled.
He managed to look like an upset child. "Oh, all right."
Belle laughed at the face he made. "Are you jealous," she asked teasingly.
Just as teasingly, he stuck his tongue out and turned away from her.
"Aw, poor baby." Belle patted his cheek, tilted his face back, and kissed him briefly.
"Children," Vincent called good-naturedly from the front. "Let's not turn into three-year-olds."
"Be right back." She sat back and lifted the Dream Crystal on its chain. "Dream Crystal! Please create us a mansion to live in as Lady and Lord. Make it of emerald marble, with a large lake in back." A few hundred meters away, a rather large chateau appeared, and they were driving up the driveway! "Look out the window, One-Who-Pouts, and see what the object of your jealousy just did for you."
Kaijin did as she asked, sticking his head out of the carriage window. His jaw dropped when he saw the green marble wonder before him. He pulled his head back in. "You got it to do that?"
"Yeah," she answered deprecatingly. Then she grew more serious. "The Crystal and I are rather like best friends than just Crystal and Mistress, so it did me a favor. It's rather hard to explain, but it seems like it's part of me, like something that belongs in me. Or at least, with me. Did you notice how, all through the ceremony, it was shining a little brighter than usual? I was happier then, more joyous than usual. And now that I think about it, when I was mourning on the comet, it was somewhat dull. I suppose that if I were mad, it would get cloudy, and start flashing within, like a mini-thunderstorm. Do you know what I mean," she asked suddenly, turning to Kaijin. "No, of course you don't. You haven't used the Dream Crystal. But when I first put it on, there was a little glimmer inside it, like a start of recognition. I'm not sure, but I think it was…waiting for me."